The synchronized record and
replay system allows the port to
thoroughly investigate incidents
or events.

“We are able to gather and
replay information from each
of our sensors to gain a better
understanding of the events as
they occurred. The replay is also
exportable, which is a tremendous
value,” Dahlgren said.

“One of the reasons we decidedto use the TITAN Sentinel system isits modularity. We have added addi-tional MDA cameras, satellite AISdata and will be adding additionalVHF capabilities,” he said. “As ourMDA requirements have expanded,so have the system’s capabilities.”Big data is of little value with-out the right interpretation.

“Somewhere in the vast amounts of data collected isvaluable information, and the rest isn’t so much,” Lusksaid. “A good analytics system is crucial to the datapuzzle, which singles out statistically significant infor-mation relevant to the operator. Analytics programsnow can deliver smart, actionable data from big data.”Despite the current state of computing capability,Jones said, “mission commanders have a prevailingmindset: nothing beats a human being to determine if atrue threat is present. Steps can be taken to reduce falsesignatures by tuning the system to the environment —such as waves, trees or other vegetation that might movedue to wind, roads, or weather — but it has always comedown to an operator reviewing the data in real time.

“The problem with automation is the chance that
something could be missed. It’s a huge liability. They
would rather [have] an operator/monitor watching
those sensors make that determination than any piece
of software,” he said.

Port Canaveral, located between Miami and Jacksonville on Florida’s Atlantic coast, is the second busiest
cruise port in the world. It also handles a significant
amount bulk cargo, autos, containers and unique traffic resulting from the nearby space activities at Cape
Canaveral.

The port contracts with the Brevard County
Sheriff’s Office for physical security. But the port’s
security director, Jim Reynolds, must ensure security
both on the water and ashore.

“For us, the key is maritime domain awareness and
knowing what’s on the water,” he said.

Port Canaveral installed the CommandBridge platform
from The Mariner Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of
ARES Security Corp., to integrate, analyze and display
sensor data to provide MDA and help alert the watch
team if and when action needs to be taken.

Mariner Group’s Coleman Maness said CommandBridge’s open architecture allows the system to ingest
and display virtually any sensor feed, such as vessels
(AIS and radar), vehicles, aircraft and unmanned aerial
vehicles, personnel, mobile phones and tablets, specialty equipment and more.

While many ports have cameras, Maness said most
ports also need radar.

“It’s important to pick up vessels that don’t have
AIS,” he said.

The Terma Scanter 1002 radar can detect and track
targets and slew cameras for visual identification.
CommandBridge can analyze the data input and issue
alerts when triggered by something that may be moving into an area of concern, which can be mapped
using Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates or
other boundaries.

When a virtual barrier is breached, watchstanders
are notified, and cameras that are within range can be
directed at the target, which can be brought to bear on
the vessel. The cameras can zoom in on the vessel to
determine if it’s a friendly fisherman or a suspicious
boat, and follow it.

While sharing the information has been beneficial
for port partners, Reynolds said that offering it to the
Coast Guard has been problematic, largely because of
firewalls and information assurance issues.

NANAIMOPORTAUTHORITYThe TITAN Sentinel system, from Xanatos Marine, provides a common operating picture at theNanaimo Port Authority in British Columbia, Canada, with a combination of an automatic iden-tification system network, cameras, radar and weather stations that are fully integrated into theport’s vessel traffic monitoring system.